You know what sold me on Johnny Manziel? Those 4,600 yards. Better than the single-season best of one of the GOATs of the college game, Cam Newton, who himself had busted up Tim Tebow’s SEC total-yardage record. Just an incredible statistical feat.

Actually, I take that back. What really sold me on Manziel was seeing his name at the very top of the list of SEC rushers, at just a tick under 100 yards per game. It turns out that in this smashmouth league of terrifying tough guys—Eddie Lacy and T.J. Yeldon at Alabama, Todd Gurley at Georgia, Mike Gillislee at Florida, Jeremy Hill at LSU—the best giddy-upper of ’em all is the (not quite) 200-pounder whose runs resemble the lines on a heart monitor.

OK, that’s not true, either. The most compelling number when it comes to Manziel? Those 10 wins. Raise your hand if you thought the Aggies would go 10-2 in their first year as members of the SEC.

Put those hands down, #JohnnyFootball freaks—you had to see it to believe it just like the rest of us.

But you know what I enjoyed most about the guy in 2012? None of the above. My favorite moment was listening to him talk for an hour on the phone. Boring, right? Still, after being locked down all season from the media in accordance with Texas A&M coach Kevin Sumlin’s policy for all freshmen, Manziel at last met the national media in a simple conference call.

First, Klein, the guy who helped me understand how sometimes “player of the year” and “MVP” don’t mean the same thing. Just my opinion: Klein was the MVP in 2012. Over the course of his career, Klein has meant more to his program than any college football player since Tebow—and, in a transformative senior season, he led a team that might have been around .500 without him (just ask his teammates, they won’t argue) all the way to the Big 12 title.

But that night at Baylor sure did hurt. He was my pick going in. Right or wrong, he no longer was my pick coming out.

As for Te’o, this is the best way I can describe my position: If someone looked me dead in the eye and told me to convince him that Te’o is the best defensive player in the country, I’m not sure I could do it. Frankly, I’m not 100 percent convinced I even believe it. But I do think he’s great—and, no doubt, an off-the-charts team leader—and all these folks from Texas and SEC country (are they one in the same now?) are going to owe him an apology when he plays in his first Pro Bowl, which just might happen in early in 2014.

Not sure it’s even worth getting into this, but: Last year’s Heisman field was so much better. Think of those 2011 finalists: Robert Griffin III, Andrew Luck, Trent Richardson, Montee Ball (the 39-touchdown version) and Tyrann Mathieu. Insane!

No, I don’t think Manziel was as good this season as RG3 was last season. I don’t think he was as good as Ball was last season, either. So, in historical context, Manziel’s not a Heisman all-timer.

Then again … as the world knows, the dude is just a freshman. Which certainly makes him a Heisman all-timer in that regard.